Delta3D is an Open Source Software gaming/simulation engine API. Primarily managed and supported by the Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation (MOVES) Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Alion Science has also been a major contributor to enhancements and features.
Delta3D is released under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). The external modules have their own licensing. Some modules, such as Qt, require the user to download and install separately for use with Delta3D.
As a cross-platform "application" different operating systems and development environments are supported.
Delta3D can be used to create a game/simulation — it is not a "finished product" ready for release/deployment. Tests, examples, and other support applications are provided. The "user" (developer) is expected to "leverage" these as resources and technical references in order to create their own custom implementation.
In order to make "full" use of Delta3D you will need a compiler/development environment. Additionally, you will need a Source Control application to access the source code for the latest versions of Delta3D and the related libraries/modules. This is necessary in order to make use of changes in support libraries as well as ongoing updates to Delta3D that may not be available in the "release package", or covered in the current product documentation.